My Life in Rugby: Duncan Bell – Lydney player/coach and former Bath and England prop
However I do remember being away as a 23-year-old on the 1998 Tour of Hell and feeling pretty unhappy.
At the time I put it down to the terrible results and poor atmosphere in the squad, which no-one can deny, but maybe there was already something else in there as well.
I came very close to a first cap on that tour when I was an unused replacement in the first Test against Australia. We lost 76-0 but I would never say I dodged a bullet in not coming on because I desperately wanted a cap.
Before the next game against New Zealand ‘A’ I sprung my shoulder and was out for the rest of the trip which meant I had to wait seven years finally to make my England debut against Italy.
It was the 2005 Six Nations and I was brought in because Phil Vickery had broken his arm and Julian White was out of favour. I played well enough to get into the starting XV against Scotland a week later but then I was out of the team for four more years.
I came back in for the 2009 autumn internationals, coming off the bench against Australia and I probably played the best rugby of my life in those 25 minutes. I carried the ball seven or eight times which for is pretty good going a prop and I started against Argentina the next week – playing the full 80 minutes. A week later I ran out for what would be my last cap against the All Blacks – a team I’d always wanted to play against.
Throughout my career I probably could have done more training, or eaten less, in an attempt to get more caps but I was fortunate enough to get those five.
I spent nine great seasons at Bath and four at Sale but some of my fondest memories come from being at Pontypridd between 2001 and 2003.
I had other options after leaving Sale but I thought I would give Ponty a go and see what happens and I loved it there. They had unbelievable supporters and we also had a really good side and a number of that squad like Matthew Rees and Michael Owen went on to play for Wales and the Lions. The team played well and I played well in it, which paved the way for me to me get picked up by Bath.
My philosophy has always been to try and get the ball in my hands and if I didn’t manage to do that in a match I would be gutted – no matter how well the scrums and the lineouts went. I could hold up a scrum but I was never the best in the world at that but I loved running with the ball and there was one try I scored for Sale that was particularly enjoyable.
We were playing Newcastle in a really open Tetley’s Bitter Cup semi-final and Charlie Hodgson passed me the ball shouting ‘get it to the wing’. I looked to pass it but I saw the man outside me had Inga Tuigamala and Tom May about to clobber him so I thought I better not and ended up dummying the ball and everyone took it and I ran it in from the 22.
Since retiring from professional rugby in the summer, I have joined Lydney in National Two South as a player/coach. Coaching is not something I ever thought I would do but I absolutely love it. They are a great group of players and I’m sure we’ll get our rewards.
